CTA's subway idols

In honor of the "American Idol" finale that airs Wednesday, "Going Public" thought it would be fun to go deep into the bowels of the CTA and judge performers at subway stops.

After all, "Idol" host Simon Cowell makes it look effortless to harp on pitchiness and inappropriate song choices while finding new applications for the term "dreadful."

CTA performers are comparatively luckier than finalists Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee, who have been subjected to rigorous auditions, national humiliation and mugging for the camera to capture America's votes.

To get your 15 minutes of fame on the CTA, you simply pay the transit agency $10 and show identification for a yearly permit to perform.

Solo, whose real name is Joseph Lane, was on the scene at the Jackson and State stop around noon Friday. Holding a pack of cough drops in one hand and a mic in the other, he unleashed rhyme after rhyme while riders clapped, bobbed their heads and shouted for more.

Solo's beats, piped over a speaker, sounded professional, and the MC also was helpful enough to announce approaching "L" trains without breaking his flow.

"Going Public" gives Solo points for original subject matter. Of the three songs he performed, all were uplifting and flowed nicely against smoothed-out beats.

Though Solo was loud enough to be heard, he was never overpowering and always ended songs before the trains arrived.

GP Tip: This is a nit pick, but Solo mentioned in a rhyme that fans sometimes forget his name. He should always wear a black T-shirt that bears his MC moniker and lose the bright blue Cubs jersey he wore on Friday. Don't want to risk alienating Sox fans.

NAME: Nate Williams

GAME: Acoustic guitar, singing

Age: 45

You have to listen carefully to hear Nate Williams, a performer who prefers the stop at Washington and State because of what he called a more diverse crowd. Williams' nimble fingers on the guitar were drowned out even by quiet conversations because he had no speakers or amp, though he pleased a variety of tastes with Hall & Oates' "Sara Smile" and Heatwave's classic love song, "Always and Forever."

GP Tip: My one quibble with Williams was that his guitar playing slightly outshone his singing. Perhaps he should team up with one of the subway's singers and really start bringing in big bucks.

NAME: Jak'ki Johnson

GAME: Performance poet

Age: 28

Johnson paced around the Jackson and State stop without a microphone or any other indication he was a performer.

That's why "Going Public" was shocked when this poet suddenly unleashed his transit talent. Johnson said it is sometimes hard to compete with other artists performing hip-hop and R&B. He has even been heckled by poetry-phobes.

"It always touches me to hear people's opinions on what I do whether what they say is good or bad," Johnson said, pointing at a few fans crowded around him. "I love to do this, and I'm confident in my own art."

GP Tip: Johnson might want to always announce his name and poem title before he unloads. Initially, "Going Public" thought he might have been a lunatic loose on the "L".

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